


once in twenty lifetimes

by katiekat784



Series: Folklore [2]
Category: Gilmore Girls
Genre: Episode: s05e03 Written in the Stars, F/M, Lorelai needs coffee, Luke pretends he isn't interested in her, but we all know the truth, i really wish we could've seen them meeting for the first time, spoilers for
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-14 23:22:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29304159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katiekat784/pseuds/katiekat784
Summary: Lorelai is on the hunt for the best coffee in town, everyone tells her to try Luke’s. Lorelai comes out of the diner with more than just the perfect cup of java. The story of the time Stars Hallow’s favorite couple meet each other.OrHer eyes glanced up from the menu and met his eyes. This time, he didn’t hide the small smile that formed on his face. She raised her coffee cup slightly in agreement and he rolled his eyes before walking back to the busy diner. The smile that had appeared throughout their conversation still hadn’t left her lips as she continued to drink her coffee.
Relationships: Luke Danes/Lorelai Gilmore
Series: Folklore [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2131743
Comments: 2
Kudos: 7





	once in twenty lifetimes

**Author's Note:**

> Based off of track 2 (Cardigan) in Taylor Swift's Folklore album.

_When you are young, they assume you know nothing.  
But I knew you, playing hide-and-seek and giving me your weekends.  
You drew stars around my scars._

It had been a month since her and Rory moved into what they affectionately were calling their new home _the crapshack_. Between work at the inn, getting Rory settled in and dealing with the mountain that was turning their house into a home, she hadn’t had much time to explore. But today was different, Rory was spending the day with Lane and Lorelai had the day off and the piles of things that needed to be done weren’t so long. So. she deserved a break, and food, and coffee. But mostly coffee. Coffee was the thing that made her wander around the town in the first place. The coffee machine at her house was being weird, the coffee wasn’t making her happy and she couldn’t stand it. She had tried Al’s the other day, his food was decent, but his coffee was downright awful. She had been talking to a couple of her neighbours the other day and they all told her that if she wanted a really good cup of coffee, to go to Luke’s Diner. Apparently, it was a must have and it was the first day she was able to see what the fuss was all about.

She made her way through the town, marveling the sights before her. Sure, she’d been here for about a month now, but it was still surreal to her at times. Of course, she’d been in the town a lot over the years, but this was different. She lived here now, her and Rory had a house, an actual house here. She, Lorelai Victoria Gilmore was a homeowner in Stars Hallow. After years of planning and dedication and tears, she had finally done it.

 _Ha, if only Emily and Richard could see me now,_ she thought walking up the street, the yellow dinner sign coming into view. _Well, nothing would change, I’d still be a disappointment, their shame._

She pushed the door open, almost running into the two older woman. “Hey Babette, Patty didn’t see you.”

“Hiya Lorelai, good to see ya!” Babette exclaimed. “Surprised it took ya so long, figured you’d sniffed this place out already.”

“Ah, I would’ve, been hearing good things but the inn’s been keeping me busy.” She chuckled, not surprised at how her neighbour knew about her coffee addiction.

“Lorelai dear, how’s Rory’s practicing going?” Patty asked, “If she’s still having a difficult time with the latest routine tell her to come by Wednesday.”

She refrained herself from rolling her eyes at the thought of her daughter’s perfectionist tendencies. “Oh she’s practicing alright. And thanks, I’ll let her know.”

She needed caffeine and needed it now. She was trying to be polite, but the two women really knew how to keep a conversation going. Not that there was anything wrong with that, she was Lorelai Gilmore, queen of chatterboxing but right now wasn’t the time. Her coffee machine wasn’t working properly today, and her previous three cups weren’t cutting it. Which is the whole reason she needed a break and left the house in the first place, Luke’s Diner on her mind.

“I don’t want to hold up the entrance or get stuck holding the door for everyone. You do that for one person and then before you know it, it’s like a whole conga line and you can never escape.” She started, making her way into the diner.

The two women laughed as they said their goodbyes. She waved and turned around, the aroma bacon and something vanilla filled her senses. The diner was packed and a guy with a backwards baseball hat and a flannel shirt seemed to be the only one serving everyone.

She stood there and observed him for a moment. From what she could gather, he wasn't very friendly, but no one seemed to mind and from the aroma and looks of satisfaction on his customers' faces, the food wasn't bad. She continued looking around, making sure not to be in anyone's way. As she continued her observation, she noticed quite a few familiar faces that she'd seen around town. Even though it was a small town, she hadn't had the opportunity of familiarizing herself with all the places and people that the community had to offer.

After she finished observing her surroundings, she had the task of getting the backwards baseball hat guy's attention. “Hi, need a big cup coffee stat.”

He ignored her and continued talking to an elderly couple seated at one of the tables.

“Hello, coffee, I know you serve it because I see a pot in your hands. Is it decaf, I really hope it’s not decaf although at this point… no coffee, real coffee is needed. I hear you have good coffee and the coffee at my house isn’t cutting it right now so I thought I would try and –”

“Will you sit down and shut up; I’ll get to you in a minute.” He shot out, walking away from her.

 _Not so fast, bucko._ She thought, his reaction brought a smile to her face. _I will win him over._

Her goals of coffee shifted slightly as she added getting his attention to the list. This was going to be a difficult task. So, she did what she was good at, annoying people until they're finally forced into giving her their attention. She followed him around the diner, not stopping as he brought the customers' their orders or when he refilled others coffee mugs.

“Are you just going to follow me around until I give in? I told you to wait.” He finally spun around, face red with annoyance. “I have this gut feeling that I should tell you you’re cut off for the day if you need caffeine this much.”

Her eyes widened at the thought, her mouth opened in shock as she saw a slight smile appearing. “I see threating you with withholding caffeine shuts you up. Now, what will it take for you to actually sit down and wait?”

This was an intriguing man, he claimed to be annoyed, probably was but yet here he was conversing with her. “What’s your sign?”

He took down another order before answering her, a teasing edge in his voice. “Pickup lines aren’t going to work on me… especially not ones that have a tendency of being overused.”

“I just wanted to know you’re sign.” She looked over to a man at the table, a folded newspaper rested by his almost empty plate. “Are you always this much of a smooth talker?”

“Are you using this?” She asked the man at the table and picked it up when he shook his head, smiling slightly at her. “Do you know his birthday?”

 _He’s cute,_ she thought. _No, one thing at a time._

“Alright, that’s it!” He called out. “November 2nd, are you done?”

She grabbed the pen from the table and scribbled something on the newspaper and tore it as he walked away. She let him serve another costumer before handing the torn-out paper to him. He looked up at her, his blue eye meeting hers as he raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

“Hold on to it,” She teased, and sat down on the closest available seat. “It’ll bring you luck someday.”

He walked behind the counter, grabbing a mug and poured the liquid before sliding it across to her. She held the steaming cup to her face for a moment, letting her hands feel the warmth and brought her mouth to the edge before slowly taking her first sip. Her eyes closed and she let out a sigh as the liquid passed her lips.

“They weren’t wrong.” She moaned, “one of the best tasting coffee’s I’ve ever had. And that my friend is saying a lot considering I have had many, many cups of coffee in my lifetime. My god, it is wonderful.”

“Can I get back to my other customers now without you following me now?” His tone was full of annoyance but there was a sparkle in his eyes that let her know that maybe he wasn’t as frustrated as he claimed to be.

She smiled before gulping down another bit of the delicious liquid. “Only if you promise not cut me off.”

“That stuff will kill you if you have too much of it.” He shook his head at her pout. “I will not be responsible if you die of a heart attack on my floor.”

“Noted.” She told him, laughing at their banter. “Hey, coffee angel, what’s your name?”

“I’m Luke,” he walked out from behind the counter and gave her a menu. “Haven’t seen you around.”

“Thanks, and yeah, I just bought a house here last month.” She picked up the menu, “I’m Lorelai.”

She stared at the menu and didn’t see when he shoved the piece of torn newspaper in his pocket. “Look through the menu. Considering you have your vice, and I got my fortune of the day, I’ll be with you in a minute.”

Her eyes glanced up from the menu and met his. This time, he didn’t hide the small smile that formed on his face. She raised her coffee cup slightly in agreement and he rolled his eyes before walking back to the busy diner. The smile that had appeared throughout their conversation still hadn’t left her lips as she continued to drink her coffee.

 _Definitely coming back here again._ She thought to herself as she decided what to order.

_And when I felt like I was an old cardigan under someone's bed_  
_You put me on and said I was your favorite._  
_I knew you'd linger like a tattoo kiss._

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, thoughts are always welcome :)


End file.
